Come away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o
For one week every year at the beginning of August the town of Sidmouth burst into life and at the seams with visitors to the folk festival. There is music, dance, theatre and story telling in venues big and small all over the town. Market traders line the seafront and everywhere is a riot of colour. Here are a few of the photos I took last night.
Another good reason for you to come to Devon!
This week’s photo challenge is guest hosted by Aaron Joel Santos. Who says,
‘Culture. Culture is a bit of a loaded word. In a photograph, it can embody everything and nothing. So where do we draw the line? Shopping culture, hippy culture, Asian culture, Thai culture, ancient culture, and on and on. These phrases have different meanings. For me, as a working travel photographer, being able to show culture, in all of its various guises, is crucial to the success of an image.
There are obvious elements that go into making a great photograph: perspective, color, contrast, subject matter, and lighting, to name a few. But for this challenge, go for that little something extra — that piece of the image that makes a viewer want to see more — to delve deeper into the culture you’re photographing. I’ve always said that I want my photographs to make people curious. So that is your assignment here: inspire curiosity with your photography.’
The richness of the culture in Marrakech is something I love, so here are three photos for you. The first shows that culture isn’t always comfortable, in fact in the tannery, that has been part of their culture for so long, it’s distinctly unpleasant when the smell hits you.
Next, there are many stalls in the souk selling the wonderful local figs, dates and olives, delicious.
Lastly, this is Jemaa el-Fnaa, in the heart of the medina, and a world heritage site. It’s a real spectacle in the evening when it is packed with music, dance, snake charmers, story tellers, tooth pullers, you name it. The smoke is from the numerous food opportunities that are set up each night.
Join in at http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/photo-challenge-culture/
Jake’s Sunday post this week is culture – not as easy as you would think, but here is my offering! Pop on over and join in or see how other people have interpreted it.
http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/sunday-post-culture/
My Chambers Dictionary defines culture as :
The result of cultivation; the state of being cultivated; refinement in manners, thought, taste, etc; loosely, the arts; a type of civilisation; the attitudes and values which inform a society; a crop of micro-organisms, eg bacteria, grown in a solid or liquid medium in a laboratory.
I’ll skip the science and instead show you just a little culture from my city.
A touch of Rock to celebrate World Peace Day
Some Cafe culture, at least three choices in Princesshay Square
Some Cultural heritage provided by history re-inactment
Busking Hip-hop
Last but not least one of the High Street sculptures, 6 metres high, stainless steel and I love it but as always with these installations it has been controversial. Engraved on it are some of the Exeter Riddles, from one of the oldest books of Old English poetry, dating back to the tenth century. To add to the mystery the riddles are engraved backwards to be read in the reflections.
Here are two of the riddles.
Some acres of this Middle Earth are handsomely attired with the hardest, sharpest, most bitter of man’s fine belongings:
It is cut, threshed, couched, kilned, mashed, strained, sparged, yeasted, covered, wracked, and carried far to the doors of men.
A quickening delight lies in this treasure, lingers and lasts for men who, from experience, indulge their inclinations and don’t rail against them; and then after death it begins to gab, to gossip, wrecklessly.
Shrewd men must think carefully must think carefully what this creature is.
Any ideas?
I am a strange creature with various voices.
I can bark like a dog, bleat like a goat, honk like a goose, shreek like a hawk, and at time I imitate the ashen eagle, the battle bird’s cry;
the vulture’s croak trips off my tongue and them mew of the seagull as I sit here saucily.
The capital G suggests my name and AE, R, and O assist it so do H and I. I am called what these six characters clearly spell out.
I’ll come back in a couple of days and add the answers!
Lucid Gypsy 